RNC Capital Management LLC Sells 137,922 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

RNC Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 975,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137,922 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises about 2.4% of RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. RNC Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Altria Group worth $39,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

MO opened at $43.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.53. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.